Fresh off the heels of the last update and just hours before we take the air for the next show, here’s SNSS episode #508 for y’all. More freshness from folks like The Physics, Lloyd Banks, Kanye, Pusha T, Tink, Jay Electronica, Rapper Big Pooh, Kenn Starr, Warm Brew, Wale, Action Bronson, Drake, Chance The Rapper, and more. Enjoy!

Apologies for the massive delay on the last two episodes of SNSS but it’s been a hectic month so far. Turns out, redesigning the biggest sports website in the world takes a bit of work. March Madness indeed! Keep an eye out for ESPN.com‘s relaunch on April 1st…no foolin’.

Fresh out the oven, here’s the latest episode of SNSS for y’all. J. Moore held it down and ran through new tracks from artists like Fashawn + Nas + Aloe Blacc (on one cut! with DJ Khalil on the beat!!!), Your Old Droog, Big Sean, Kanye West, Drake, Kendrick Lamar, Dej Loaf, Frank Ocean, Kali Uchis, India Shawn, Henry Wu, Tunji Ige, Asher Roth, our good friend Sol, and more. Be sure to download Sol’s two new songs off his Soundcloud, right here. For our throwback, we honored the Good Doctor’s 50th and we ended the night with something new off D’Angelo’s Black Messiah.

Speaking of D’Angelo, I got a chance to see him perform on Friday here in London and it lived up to every hope I had. Thinking about it, I’m giving him the crown of the best R&B artist of the last 25 years and I might just extend that back to MJ’s glory days. After Mike’s reign, I don’t see who’s topping him. Yes, he’s only released 3 albums (4 if you count his excellent live release recorded at another London show), but they’re all classics and aging much better than those of his contemporaries. He’s heavily influenced by some of the greatest references a singer can have (James Brown and Fela Kuti come to mind), but somehow has always had his own distinct style that’s evolved subtly over the years. He’s not just an amazing singer, but he’s also a writer, producer, and multi-instrumentalist. Watching him completely OWN the crowd for 2 hours…with 2 separate encores…was a sight to behold. He took us through damn near every emotion with his performance and having seen all his noteworthy competition live before, I can safely say, none of them can do what he does.

Anyway, I’m open to the debate (not really). Who’s the greatest R&B singer of the last 25 years, if not D?

What up y’all? Hope things are all good in your world. No complaints from my end, as London’s treating your boy pretty well. Exploring a bit, learning a lot, and experiencing as much as I can. Life’s crazy…much like the playlist on this week’s SNSS episode!

Peep show #505 for new heat from Jadakiss, Fabolous, Kendrick, Emilio Rojas, Joell Ortiz, Tunji Ige, The Weeknd, Chris Faust, Melat, Johnny Rain, Kali Uchis, Jay Prince, and you know we had to get something in the mix off Drizzy’s surprise mixtape. That dude. Sheesh.

Oh, and peep a great discussion between J. Moore and one of Seattle’s rising stars, Raz Simone. RIP BIG L too!

I haven’t had time to archive the latest SNSS until now, so I’ve had a few days to recover and decompress from the Super Bowl. Hmm, where to begin? I could write a book on it, but let’s just summarize it from a perspective I think most Seahawks fans will agree with: it was a great game with a few chances for both teams to really seize control (that 3rd down play to Kearse will never be forgotten), but it was always going to be difficult with our lack of dynamic WR’s and an increasingly hobbled secondary. That said, magic happened and there we were, just 1 yard away from back to back Super Bowl victories, a feat almost unthinkable with free agency and the parity fostered by the league.

2nd down, 50 seconds, 1 time out…and the Seahawks OC, Darrell Bevell, makes the worst (on field) decision in American sports history. I’ve heard folks complain about this “exaggeration,” but umm…name one that’s worse? Webber’s timeout gets mentioned, but that’s a mental error, not a premeditated decision. There’s nothing that eclipses this in terms of stature, scale, importance, opportunity, etc.. Hindsight is 20/20 but as soon as they walked to the line with an empty backfield, every Seahawks fan sick of Bevell’s misuse of Marshawn inside the red zone felt it coming. Run. The. Ball.

There’s been a lot of talk trying to defend the call (and Bill Belichick’s clock errors too) this week, but I’m not having it. You run the ball with #BeastMode on 2nd down and still have every option you want on 3rd and 4th if he doesn’t get in. There’s even a decent chance the Patriots let him score there to ensure Brady has a little bit of time left. And say for some ridiculous reason you decide to pass…you do not run THAT call with THAT personnel and in THAT situation.

Malcolm Butler made an incredible play, possibly the greatest in NFL history, but it never should have happened. Patriots fans will say Kearse’s catch never should have happened too, and they’re probably right. Sports just happen like that sometimes, which, cruelly enough, is why we watch. You never know what’s going to happen, unless you’re a Hawks fan and you see Marshawn spread out wide at the goal line.

ANYWAY, back to the music. J. Moore continued to hold it down in the studio while your boy is across the pond on that international steez (“hardly home but always reppin”). Peep #503 for new tracks from Fabolous, Lupe, Joey Badass, Raz Simone, J. Cole, Elzhi, OverDoz., OnCue, Meek Mill, Vic Mensa, Sampha, Kali Uchis, Warm Brew, Alina Baraz, Wale, and my theme song of the moment (despite the game), Big Sean’s “Blessings.” Sometimes I’ll be walking through these London streets and randomly belt out, “waaaaaaaaaay up, I feel blessed!”

It’s the morning of Super Bowl XLIX and I can feel the energy in Seattle all the way here in London. When the Hawks won last year, the feeling in the city was incredible and this year seems even bigger because the hype has now drawn in folks that aren’t even football fans. It’s great to see everyone in the city come together, further illustrating the power of sports. The only other time I can remember everyone being collectively so excited about something was when Obama won that first election. We’ll see if the Hawks can pull it out against a tough Patriots team, but either way, they are massively appreciated.

On episode #502 of SNSS, J. Moore welcomed a few local artists to the studio so peep the show to hear updates from Dave B, Tre Ross, and Key Nyata, alongside new records from Lupe, Joey Badass, Freddie Gibbs, Hanni El Khatib, Warm Brew, Frank Ocean, Sam Sparro, Jean Deaux, The Weeknd, Snakehips, Jay Prince, and our homey Tunji! We also gave SNSS debuts to two promising artists, Geovarn and Brent Faiyez. Get familiar and enjoy the music!

Apologies for the delay in this week’s SNSS archive but hey, that’s what happens when you’ve traveled half way around the world. So far, life in London is not too dissimilar to life at home, thanks mostly to the amazing technology we have at our fingertips. Being able to log on to social media to see what everyone back home is talking about and to interact with them is the best cure for any homesickness, and honestly, most of the interaction I have with folks back home was digital to begin with. As long as my pixels can still talk to your pixels, that’s 2015 and I’m good…though it wouldn’t hurt to be back in the 6 for all this Seahawks madness…

That said, I’ve spent the last week adapting to the time schedule (the absolute worst for a west coast sports fan) and working, so I’m about to head out and explore this city a bit today. Before then, enjoy this week’s SNSS featuring new tracks from artists like Action Bronson, Fabolous, Wale, OnCue, Black Moon, Diamond District, Fice, Von Pea, Lupe Fiasco, Joey Badass, Jean Deaux, Thelonius Martin, Theophilus London, Little Simz, one of my favorite UK discoveries, Jay Prince, and more. And don’t forget to peep our 500th show from the week prior if you want to celebrate almost 10 years of the program!

It’s 3am here in London and I’ve been listening to Joey Badass and Lupe’s new albums all night, which are completely reinvigorating my feelings towards contemporary hip-hop. Honestly, outside of some of the best, I feel like hip-hop’s been a bit stale the past few years. Well both of these projects and both of these artists are absolutely KILLING it right now and restoring my faith. This legit, off the top freestyle from Lupe is a great example of what I’m talking about. Cop Tetsuo & Youth in stores now and enjoy!

As is tradition with the first Sound Session of the year, we started this episode looking back on 2014 (shout to Skillz for rekindling his rap up series) before turning our focus to the days ahead. J and I both feel like there’s lots of good energy around right now, so we’re excited to see what 2015 brings, personally, professionally, cultural, etc.. Hopefully you guys are equally excited for the new year, but as we mentioned on the show, we’re not really a fan of resolutions. Continued evolution through love and learning and new experiences should be the goal, and that should happen daily, not just at the top of the year. Make it happen…

On this week’s show, we ran new music from ASAP Rocky, J. Cole, Mark Ronson, Mystikal, Funkghost, CRL CRRLL, Lion Babe, Little Simz, Tope, Kenn Starr, Joey Badass, Drake, D’Angelo, and more. Lots of good music out there right now, hope you enjoy!

And before I go, a quick word on one of my favorite media figures, and a coworker at ESPN, Stuart Scott. If you grew up in the 90’s and liked sports & music, Stu defined the intersection of the two. In that regard, he was similarly as impactful as folks like Allen Iverson, the Fab 5, or Shaq. He literally changed the media landscape by himself and by being himself. He never compromised. He was 100% genuine and the man you saw on TV was the same man in real life.

Growing up, I spent countless hours watching him cover sports and those were really formative years for me. While everyone I watched on ESPN helped forge my desire to join the company later in life, he was probably the on-air personality I connected with the most. He was like a good friend you saw all the time. He was one of the homies. That was our guy. Today, he’s still reflected in the way all of us 80’s babies bring hip-hop into the workplace.

Most importantly, he was a dude that just lived life the way it’s meant to be done: to the fullest…being you…full of love and light. Rest in peace to an icon and an inspiration. We love you Stu, forever.